Delhi Sultanate

The Delhi Sultanate was a Muslim sultanate based in Delhi that existed from 1206 to 1526, with Delhi serving as its capital for much of its existence. Five dynasties ruled the sultanate: the Mamluk dynasty (1206-90), the Khalji dynasty (1290-1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1414), the Sayyid dynasty (1414-51), and the Lodi dynasty (1451-1526). The sultanate was established by Muhammad of Ghor's former general Qutb al-Din Aibak, who conquered large areas of northern India. The Khaljis failed to conquer the entire Indian Subcontinent, and the sultanate reached the peak of its territorial dominance under the brutal Tughlaq dynasty. However, the empire was weakened by the Vijayanagara Empire and other Hindu kingdoms, in addition to breakaway Muslim states such as the Bengal Sultanate. In 1526, the last ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, the Afghan warlord Ibrahim Lodi, was killed in battle with the Uzbek warrior Babur, who established the Mughal Empire in the Delhi Sultanate's place.